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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

"The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce Ubuntu 11.10, code-named 'Oneiric Ocelot'. 11.10 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. For PC users, Ubuntu 11.10 supports laptops, desktops and netbooks with a unified look and feel based on an updated version of the desktop shell called 'Unity', which introduces specialized 'Lenses'. Finding and installing software using the Ubuntu Software Centre is now easier thanks to improvements in speed, search functionality enhancements, and usability improvements. Aside from updates on the performance side, it's also more aesthetically appealing."

Installation
This is fast and easy. Disk encryption is supported. The installer gives you the chance to download media codecs: take it, or you'll be wandering the internet looking for them.

Desktops
I tried the main version, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu. Unity still seems an abomination, and I'm not surprised that no other distro has taken it up. Xfce and LXDE worked reasonably well. LXDE is never very configurable, and setting up keyboard shortcuts requires editing a rather complex xml file.

Software
I only installed media codecs with Lubuntu and Xubuntu. With Xubuntu, videos only played in Parole if I switched to full-screen and back! Mplayer failed with an illegal instruction error and the VLC screen kept going black. With Lubuntu, Gnome-mplayer worked perfectly.

Other programs on the CDs all ran from the CLI without leaving any ominous warnings. I did have a panel crash in Xfce, though.

I was surprised that LibreOffice is supplied with Ubuntu, but Abiword with Xubuntu. I'd have thought that the sort of people who'd like Unity and the sort who needed a full office package would not overlap much. Lubuntu is intended for small computers, so naturally it has very lightweight programs.

Conclusion
I'm not sure who'd like Unity: certainly not me. The Xfce version is competing with Mint and Salix, which lack the bugs and have easier codec and flash installation. Lubuntu is very basic, but it works and would work fine in 256MB or even less.

I felt that the installation was very straight forward like all of the Ubuntu distributions in the past. I am using this on a HP dx4285 laptop with ATI Radeon 6370 graphics card.

Software:
Ubuntu comes with so many great applications and it is so easy to get the new ones too.

I had a little trouble installing Netbeans because I also had to install OpenJDK but it is not the end of the world.

VmPlayer works awesome.

Hardware:
Ubuntu is flat out awesome when it comes to installing on different laptops and PCs. The only thing I am having trouble with is getting the HDMI to work right. But I think this bug has been around a while.

Desktop:
OK. Here we go. when I first used Unity I was upset and I did not like it at all. I felt that the Ubuntu team lost it. I really was disappointed.

But, I tried this again and then again and now I get it. The dash home really makes sense once you can operate the filters properly.

Seriously, the Unity desktop is a lot better than Gnome when you give it a shot.

KDE: I also put KDE on my desktop too but I am using Unity more.

Unity does have some short comings though. It is not as flexible as KDE or Gnome. but that is OK because it is easy to use and navigate once you use the filters.

Conclusion:
If you tried Ubuntu and did not like Unity, I would strongly suggest re-visiting this one because it took me three plus times and then I had a Linux AH HA moment and the Unity cool aid had the effect.

once I got it up and running I love the interface, will take a bit of getting used to. But I'm setting it to the side for a later project. when I installed it the installer forgot to install a bootloader. i had to boot into the live cd and mount the file system, move the dev folder, mount /dev to /dev on the filesystem them chroot and run grub-install. to say the least it was a major pain in the a**. Once I finally booted up the ethernet goes in and out for no reason at all. I know it's not a hardware or network issue cause windows 7 on the same pc has no network issues at all.

Cannot think of any cons except for having to go look for synaptic lol

Well triple booting this along with the 2 other latest ubuntu programs. I love it!!! I had to go looking for synaptic though hahaha...Installed it. One thing I did notice that when I did install it on the hard drive you have to make sure you say yes to everything to third party etc as well as having an internet connection to download all the latest packages. As an experiment I downloaded it without saying yes to the extras etc and not being connected to the net. Well guess what I could not install synaptic package manager after the program was installed. So I deleted it and re installed it making sure I said yes to everything and yes I was able to install synaptic package manager. It will create errors and you will not be able to install it if you do not have a connection etc. I read some complaints about those errors and they seemed to be solved by downloading everything possible off the net...this is what I found anyways...Now off to install google earth...wow..great program!!! and its free omggg

Would you recommend the product? no | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 1

Pros:

None. This is complete and total garbage.

Cons:

I expected competence from a company that is trying to make some money from Linux. There is none here whatsoever.

Missing icons in Unity when upgrading from 10.04. Unity is slow as molasses. Unusable as a desktop interface although it might be OK on a netbook if it has enough RAM. Ubuntu Software Center is slow and disorganised. Trying to find, let alone install XFCE was an effort. This distribution is incompetently packaged and unprofessional in every sense of the word. If I could rate this dreck at 0, I would.

I am relatively new in the Linux world, starting with Ubuntu 10. Each revision has been better, IMHO. 11.10 does all I need and more. Picked up the wired Internet, detected my older Webcam in a snap, set up my printer with me simply putting the USB cable in the slot, and boots quickly each time I try. I have several computers with Ubuntu and 2 with the 11.10 loaded. One box has a really low cost Pentium G620 but still runs fast and plays HD video without a hitch. Another one has a bit more muscle with an I-3 2100 and Ubuntu 11.10 recognizes it as a quad core (2 real cores and 2 threads). One system has a dockey installed so I can put just a few more most used programs handy. I think Unity works pretty well. (There are some minor issues with where the program menus show up on the screen but now I am used to it.)

I have the compiz wobbly windows going and the themes make the whole thing look nice. I spent a bit too much time trying to track down why the 64 bit install would hang upon shutdown. I am guessing one of the drivers was a bit off. I finally just reinstalled 32 overtop of 64 (yes you can do this - why I love Ubuntu...) and that has solved it.

I tried some of the other flavors of Linux (and some folks will really love the more Unix-true versions.) Put me squarely in the GUI group, using the terminal when it makes life easier and not harder. Give Unity a fair trial, I think its a good update.

Would you recommend the product? no | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 1

Pros:

It's free.

Cons:

What a mess. I spent more time looking for things than I did installing it.

The Unity theme is probably great for note pads and other small, hand-held devices. My wife and I don't have any of the small gadgets. We use the computer for browsing the Internet, E-mail, writing, and personal finances. All of those things which we use work just fine on Ubuntu 11.04.
The new Gnome 3 is awful. What the developers call clutter is, for us, stuff which WE put there. Since WE put it there, and WE use it, it isn't clutter for US. I know that we could install Mate and Gnome-tweaks, and wrestle with it till we got it looking and feeling like our comfortable Gnome 2.32 desktop. But what would we have gained after all that? Nothing!
We've decided to keep using 11.04 (Natty) till we can no longer use it.... even after support for it has expired. We can build our own custom kernels based on the latest from Kernel.org. We can keep Firefox and Thunderbird current. We can use Quicken 2009 via Wine. In a pinch, if we really need to use something which will only run on Windows, we have VirtualBox and a full-blown installation of Windows7 to get past any of those hurdles. Then we turn it off and it sits till we need it again, sometimes as long as three or four months. So, since there is nothing we could do with Ubuntu 11.10 that we aren't already using with 11.04, why would we bother with the hassle of changing?

My bluetooth is not working in ubuntu 11.10 which was working well in windows 7. Screen freezes at times that i had to force restart. When i revoke the computer from hibernate, screen just goes crazy(full of grains). There are some problems with Network Manager. Apart from these cons, it's look is awesome.